Predicting the Products of a Combustion Reaction

Predict the products of the following reaction. If no reaction will occur, use the NO REACTION button.

Be sure your chemical equation is balanced!

[tex]\[ \left( CH_3 \right)_3 CH_4(g) + O_2(g) \rightarrow \][/tex]



Answer :

To predict the products of the combustion reaction and balance the chemical equation, follow these steps:

1. Identify the Reactants:
The reactants are:
- [tex]\((CH_3)_3CH_4\)[/tex] (a hydrocarbon in gaseous form)
- [tex]\(O_2\)[/tex] (oxygen gas)

2. Predict the Products of Combustion:
Combustion of a hydrocarbon typically produces:
- Carbon dioxide ([tex]\(CO_2\)[/tex])
- Water ([tex]\(H_2O\)[/tex])

3. Write the Unbalanced Equation:
Write the unbalanced chemical equation for the reaction:
[tex]$ (CH_3)_3CH_4 + O_2 \rightarrow CO_2 + H_2O $[/tex]

4. Balance the Chemical Equation:
To balance the chemical equation, ensure that the number of atoms of each element on the reactant side equals the number on the product side. Let's break down the balancing process:

i. Identify the number of each type of atom in the reactants and products:
- In [tex]\((CH_3)_3CH_4\)[/tex], there is a total of 10 Carbon atoms and 22 Hydrogen atoms.
- For [tex]\(O_2\)[/tex], initially, there are 2 Oxygen atoms.
- On the product side, we need to balance Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen atoms appropriately.

ii. Balance Carbon atoms:
To balance the carbons, we need 10 [tex]\(CO_2\)[/tex] molecules because there are 10 Carbon atoms in the reactant hydrocarbon.
[tex]$ (CH_3)_3CH_4 + O_2 \rightarrow 10CO_2 + H_2O $[/tex]

iii. Balance Hydrogen atoms:
To balance the 22 Hydrogen atoms in the reactant hydrocarbon, we need 11 [tex]\(H_2O\)[/tex] molecules because each molecule of [tex]\(H_2O\)[/tex] contains 2 Hydrogen atoms.
[tex]$ (CH_3)_3CH_4 + O_2 \rightarrow 10CO_2 + 11H_2O $[/tex]

iv. Balance Oxygen atoms:
On the product side, each [tex]\(CO_2\)[/tex] molecule has 2 Oxygen atoms and each [tex]\(H_2O\)[/tex] molecule has 1 Oxygen atom:
- From [tex]\(10CO_2\)[/tex]: [tex]\(10 \times 2 = 20\)[/tex] Oxygen atoms
- From [tex]\(11H_2O\)[/tex]: [tex]\(11 \times 1 = 11\)[/tex] Oxygen atoms
- Total Oxygen atoms on the product side: [tex]\(20 + 11 = 31\)[/tex]

On the reactant side, initially [tex]\(O_2\)[/tex] must be adjusted to have 31 Oxygen atoms:
[tex]$ \frac{31}{2} O_2 \rightarrow 15.5 O_2 $[/tex]

To remove the fraction, multiply the entire equation by 2:
[tex]$ 2(CH_3)_3CH_4 + 31O_2 \rightarrow 20CO_2 + 22H_2O $[/tex]

So, the balanced chemical equation is:
[tex]$ 2(CH_3)_3CH_4 + 31O_2 \rightarrow 20CO_2 + 22H_2O $[/tex]

Summary:
The products of the combustion reaction of [tex]\((CH_3)_3CH_4\)[/tex] in the presence of [tex]\(O_2\)[/tex] are carbon dioxide ([tex]\(CO_2\)[/tex]) and water ([tex]\(H_2O\)[/tex]), with the balanced equation being:
[tex]$ 2(CH_3)_3CH_4 + 31O_2 \rightarrow 20CO_2 + 22H_2O $[/tex]